Kyra Phillips Leading HLN’s Political Convention Coverage

As we reported last November, HLN is going to be dedicating plenty of time to the 2012 election… albeit with a decidedly different tack than its sister network CNN. Rather than focus on the politicians during the RNC and DNC, HLN will set its sights on the voters and delegates.

Recent CNN transplant Kyra Phillips will lead HLN’s political convention coverage, anchoring reports during “Morning Express” and “Evening Express,” and throughout the day.

HLN is also partnering with CafeMom for “Moms Matter 2012,” which will feature Phillips, a mother of twins (dad is Fox News’s John Roberts), and a panel of moms talking about issues important to them at each convention.

More information on HLN’s convention plans, after the jump.

HLN Looks Beyond the Beltway for the Race to the White House in 2012

Kyra Phillips to Lead HLN Convention Coverage with the Focus on Voters

In August and September, HLN will take viewers inside the political conventions with a fresh perspective that focuses on delegates and voters, rather than the politicians at the podium. From the opening gavel to the acceptance speech, HLN will deliver the sights, sounds, frenzy and excitement of the conventions, plus the stories that hit home for Americans this election year. HLN’s Kyra Phillips will anchor live reports during signature programs Morning Express with Robin Meade and Evening Express as well as throughout the day from the 2012 political conventions sites in Tampa, Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina.

HLN’s political programming and coverage of the political conventions will include the following special features:

Moms Matter 2012: At both conventions Phillips will be joined by a Moms Panel, comprised of delegate moms attending the RNC and DNC, through a partnership with CafeMom, the number one site for moms with more than nine million monthly unique visitors, to debate and discuss the issues and concerns the candidates need to address to get their vote this year. The delegate Moms Panel discussions will range from gun control to the rising cost of tuition, and maternity leave to the environment; these issues come directly from a survey conducted by CafeMom on the foremost issues that women will take into the voting booth in November. HLN will continue to focus on American Mothers throughout the campaign as CafeMom election correspondent Lindsey Ferrier crisscrosses battleground states reporting on a group that could exert considerable power in this election.

HLNtv.com has a lineup of engaging and interactive information from the convention that will have everyone talking, sharing and tweeting. HLNtv.com will have the facts users will need to know about the conventions, the issues and the candidates, but also exciting features including;

“Our Economy” features everything users need to know about the economies of Florida and North Carolina, the states hosting the conventions, and how the conventions both help and hurt businesses. There will be articles on how to make money on the conventions, what to expect from the protests, a schedule of events, speakers for both conventions and the latest news from Tampa and Charlotte.

CafeMom content will have a multi-platform home at HLNtv.com, with features, stories, news and interviews from the conventions through the election. In turn, HLNtv.com will be the political news provider for CafeMom’s “Moms Matter 2012” special coverage.

“Convention Confidential” blog will be a behind-the-scenes, real-time blog taking our users along with us to the DNC and the RNC, showing the true backstory of the conventions. They will see what our producers, writers and Kyra get to see and experience with pictures, posts and the latest updates from the floor and behind closed doors.

The Voters Next Door: HLN profiles a cross-section of undecided voters in Florida, a key battleground state, who can personalize the important issues of this election. From the stagnant unemployment figures and the rising cost of education, to gay marriage and gun control, HLN’s “Voters Next Door” will add their perspectives to the national discussion as they pick their candidates. Segments will include a family with two children in the military, struggling to send the others to school, a retiree concerned about health care, a teenage mom trying to go to college but facing financial obstacles, and a second-generation Cuban American small business owner who has been having trouble making her businesses a success since the last presidential election. During weekly updates, HLN will follow these undecided voters as they scrutinize the candidates through Election Day.